Strangle Kojak
Strangle Kojak was a pop-rock band formed in Birmingham, UK, in 2006. The band consisted of Omar Elkaseh on vocals and guitar, Ashley Neal on guitar, Sam Jones on Bass and Max Such on Bass.
History
In 2006, in the early stages of the band’s life, Strangle Kojak had much success in the local music scene. They played their first gig at Madhouse bar, now (UPRAWR studios), in Birmingham. It wasn’t until after the gig that it was revealed to the band (by the venue’s owner) that they had unknowingly played in front of members of Ocean Colour Scene. After numerous small local gigs, the band had the opportunity to play their first big show with an established band. Friend and neighbour Ranking Roger offered the band a slot supporting The Beat on March 30th, 2007. Also on the bill was Neville Staples of The Specials and The Talks. During 2007, the band entered Surface Unsigned, a Midland-based battle of the bands. The competition, which was set over many months and numerous venues around Birmingham, saw Strangle Kojak make their way to the final, which was held at The Custard Factory Birmingham and judged by Jon Brookes of The Charlatans and Kerrang! Radio DJs. Ashley Neal would go on to win best guitarist award at this event. The publicity from the events gave the band their first media attention, being interviewed by Birmingham Mail, Express and Star and Blaze Bayley of Iron Maiden on Aston FM. After the band’s previous successes, 2008 led to the band recording an E.P through M.A.S Records, a record label founded by Robert Plant of Led Zepplin. They also went on to play an acoustic set on the birminghamusic.com stage at Music Live held at Birmingham’s N.E.C and support slots with the fellow Birmingham-based band The Twang. During this time, the band appeared on TV for the first time playing live in support of Big Brother star’s band, Pete Bennett and the Love Dogs, on Red TV. From 2008, Strangle Kojak began receiving radio play on Loz Guest’s show on Kerrang! Radio and once again reached the final of Surface Unsigned. 2009 saw the band playing more shows nationwide, and the peak of this year came in the form of Strangle Kojak double headlining a show with Babyshambles on December 19th, 2009, at Birmingham Ballroom. As well as embarking on their first tour in 2010, Strangle Kojak supplied support for Young Guns on their “All our kings are dead tour,” in the form of a DJ set. In 2011, Strangle Kojak were contacted by Surface Unsigned to discuss a special headline appearance at the competition’s final. This event was held on December 19th at the O2 Arena in London. The band was chosen to play this event as they had played more Surface Unsigned shows than any other band and were labelled “veterans.” The idea of their appearance at this event was to illustrate to up and coming bands what could be achieved with the help of exposure from this type of competition. In January 2012, Strangle Kojak began recording their debut single “Afterparty,” at the prestigious “Monnow Valley Studio,” Monmouthshire, Wales. Which was accompanied by their first professional music video. In 2012, the band were invited to Redbull Studios in London to record live versions of tracks to support their involvement in the Redbull Bedroom Jam. While in London, Redbull had also organised a sponsorship deal with Gibson Guitars on behalf of the band, in which Omar and Ashley each received a brand new Gibson Les Paul Special. It is around this time the band was featured in Kerrang! Magazine and Rock Sound. 2012 also saw Strangle Kojak play festivals such as Slam Dunk Festival Leeds on May 26th, Download Festival on June 10th and Hevy Music Festival on July 26th. They also supported Orange on July 20th at O2 Academy London and Pop Will Eat Itself at Birmingham Academy. During the Pop Will Eat Itself gig, Omar and Max were reacquainted with guitarist Richard March, who was their teacher while the two studied music technology at Halesowen College. In 2012, Strangle Kojak would unknowingly play their last shows. They played a string of shows up and down the country, one of which they supported Saves the Day on August 29th at Coventry Kasbah, and then finally their last show with good friends Cytota (now called Shvpes) on October 30th at Birmingham Ballroom. Since disbanding, Max Such has become a stage technician and been tour manager for Shvpes amongst others, Ashley went on to become a lighting engineer for many A-list artists such as Beyonce, and Omar since became a dancer and performance artist for super club BCM Planet Dance in Mallorca.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAjJd-b6uPY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqp8krxVVbs
https://planetradio.co.uk/kerrang/entertainment/music/review-download-festival-2012/
https://www.rocksound.tv/videos/watch/red-bull-bedroom-jam-catch-up-strangle-kojak
https://www.rocksound.tv/news/read/slam-dunk-2012-stage-times
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Download_Festival#2012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hevy_Music_Festival#2012
https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/strangle-kojak
http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2008/09/01/surface_unsigned_08_feature.shtml
https://www.facebook.com/StrangleKojak/photos/a.432588232795/10151136037407796/?type=3&theater
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